Survivors
by Double Helix Nebula
Summary: Set in 2018. The story is a flashback from Hanzo's perspective that follows the struggle he and Mercy find themselves in after a humanitarian mission goes awry. [Hanzo x Mercy]
1. Prologue

AN: Had this idea pop into my head a little while back that originally started life as an intended RP on Gaia but I never really got around to writing it out, so it stayed stored in the back of my mind and eventually developed an ending that I was originally going to write for another anime series but that also fell through as I felt that it was just too "out there" for the series I was going to write it for. So back into my memory banks it went. Then, just recently, as I was pondering my next chapter for my story 'Good Time', I got the idea to write it for Overwatch as I feel that it's not too outlandish for it. So I did what I usually do; went to a coffee shop, pulled out the laptop and started typing away. I don't intend for the story to be very long. I already have the ending partially written out. I'm shooting for 4 - 6 chapters, including this one. Please enjoy!

Summary: Set in 2018, Project OVERWATCH is a UN-backed humanitarian effort to provide aid to villages in areas that are vulnerable to attacks from extremists. Angela Ziegler is one of the Swiss doctors with the medical team who befriends Japanese JGSDF soldier Hanzo Shimada from the security detail. After a mission gone awry, the two find themselves far from friendly forces and must make their way on foot back to an ally-controlled area. That's easier said than done when they're also evading an extremist force who are on an intense manhunt for them. Narration from Hanzo's perspective.

* * *

 _I'm not exactly sure there was ever a time that I believed in 'love at first sight'. That was something reserved for fairy tales and the delusional. I was neither of them. I was a soldier; hard, tough, nearly impossible to crack, practical. But sometimes, life has a funny way of giving you a hard slap across the face. Out of all of the hard slaps life has dealt me, none has ever been as hard as the one handed to me when I met Dr. Angela Ziegler, a Swiss doctor from the medical team in Project OVERWATCH. I've seen a lot of beautiful women in my life, but she took it to the next level. Maybe it was the foreigner effect working it's magic on me; after all, being Swiss-German, her blonde hair, blue eyes and Caucasian features were not a commonality here in Japan outside of magazines, TV shows, movies or expat-heavy areas. But I've seen plenty of women more beautiful than her on paper, no pun intended. Was it the fact that she was in real life? It's not like I've never seen or spoken to Americans or other Westerners. No. There was just something about her. I still can't even explain it to this day. She just had that perfect combination, if there even is one. And her personality...was that of one that you wanted to protect at all costs. If there was a flaw with her personality, it was that she was too good to people who were undeserving. An angelic soul to the core. Maybe that's why her callsign was 'Mercy'; she displayed it to everyone. But again, it's not like I haven't been at the receiving end of kindness before. I just honestly don't know what it was about her. Or maybe...just maybe…_

"Hanzo! Dinner's ready!"

Hearing Genji's booming voice startled Hanzo slightly. He looked up from his journal and towards his door.

"Alright, coming!" he called back.

He then looked back at his journal again, skimming over the words. He laughed a little to himself and then threw his pen on top of it in frustration, running his fingers through his hair.

"Fuck. Come on, Hanzo, get your shit together." he muttered to himself.

He then stared out of the window and drifted off into his thoughts again. It had been nearly 4 years now. Why was he still thinking about her? He didn't even know if she was alive. He let out another frustrated sigh and then got up, making his way out of his room and into the kitchen area where Genji and his wife Mei were sitting.

"It's about time; your food was going to get cold!" Mei said to him.

Hanzo forced a fake smile.

"Yeah, sorry, I was just a little distracted." he said.

"Well, dig in, brother."

Hanzo took a seat across from Genji and then quietly began to eat.

"Thanks…" he mumbled before taking his first bite.

When he returned from his deployment in less-than-stellar condition and him ever walking again was questionable at best, his brother Genji convinced him to sell his apartment and move in with him so he could help him out. Hanzo was reluctant at first but when he found that even basic functions were near impossible for him to do himself, he relented and sold his place and moved in with his brother in his 2-bedroom apartment just outside of Central Tokyo. Now that Hanzo was back to normal again after nearly 4 years of therapy, he was ready to start looking for a place to live on his own again. Of course, Genji objected and wanted him to stay for a little longer to look after him but as much as Hanzo loved his brother and his wife, he was dying to be out on his own again. Finally, Mei broke the silence.

"So, do you mind if I ask you what you were distracted by?"

"Hun, leave him alone." Genji said.

"No, it's alright." Hanzo said to him.

He turned to Mei and looked at her for a moment before taking in a breath and letting it out.

"It was...well...about _her_." Hanzo admitted.

"The Swiss doctor?" she asked.

Hanzo nodded his head, "Yeah."

"You should really get over her, brother." Genji mused aloud, "You don't even know if she's alive. Best you leave her in the realm of memories and move on with your life."

"Honey! Don't be so inconsiderate!" Mei exclaimed, smacking Genji on the shoulder.

"No, he's right, Mei. I really should get over it." Hanzo told her.

They both turned and looked at him. Hanzo was staring down at his food, silent for a moment.

"I...I just...I'm finding it really hard to."

Genji and Mei stayed quiet as they just watched him. Hanzo really didn't know how to put what he was thinking into words.

"Did you write out what you were feeling in that journal like I said?" Genji finally asked, breaking the silence.

Hanzo looked up at him and then nodded his head.

"Yeah, but…" he said, letting his voice trail.

"But what?" Mei asked.

He turned his attention to Mei.

"I just...I don't know. Every time I start writing, I always get this feeling that what I'm writing is really stupid and borderline incoherent."

"It doesn't really matter what you write, because you're the only one who is going to read it." Genji said to him, "It's more about you getting your feelings out onto paper. A lot of times, that will really help."

"I know. I know. I'm just...I'm just being an idiot about it."

"Don't say that. You're not being an idiot. You're just still trying to figure everything out about it." Genji told him, "Don't ever say that about yourself."

Hanzo looked over at him and then chuckled a little.

"Thanks, Genji."

"Of course." Genji replied.

Hanzo then chuckled again, shaking his head.

"Well, anyway, let's eat, shall we?"

Genji and Mei nodded their heads in agreeance and then the three finished up their meal. Conversation was kept relatively light, and Hanzo shared what he was up to in the way of finding work and a place of his own to live. Genji continued to insist that he stay with them for at least another year. As the conversation and topics turned lighter, laughter began to fill the air. It felt so good to laugh. By the time they were finished with their food and conversation, almost two hours had passed. Mei got up and collected all of the dishes and took them to the sink to get them cleaned up.

"Well, I'm retiring for the night. Got to wake up early tomorrow. Good night, brother." Genji said as he stretched out his arms.

"Night." Hanzo replied.

Genji then made his way behind Mei, who was occupied with doing the dishes and placed his hands on her hips, making her let out a cute yelp.

"Don't keep me waiting." Genji cooed.

Mei turned and looked at him, smiling.

"Oh, I won't."

They shared a kiss before Genji disappeared into his room. Hanzo smiled at the interaction, but deep down inside, it cut him deep. It's something that he so deeply desired, but not with just anyone. He wanted that with _her_. He shook his head and then stood up.

"Did you want help with the dishes, Mei?" he asked.

"Oh, no, it's alright. I'm almost done." Mei said, "But thank you anyway."

Hanzo then nodded his head at it.

"Alright, well then I'm heading off to bed. Good night, Mei."

"Good night, Hanzo! Sleep well!"

Hanzo muttered a thank you before disappearing into his room. He closed the door and then sat at his desk again, staring at the page of words in his journal that he had been writing earlier. He stared at it for a while before suddenly ripping the page out, crumpling it up and then tossing it into the trash. The multitude of other crumpled-up papers being evidence that he had been doing this for a while. He picked up his pen and tapped it against his chin in thought before committing pen to paper once more.

 _My name is Hanzo Shimada and I was born in Fujiyoshida, Japan. I am a former JGSDF infantryman and was discharged at the rank of Lieutenant. My final mission was helping to provide security detail to Project OVERWATCH, a UN humanitarian mission delivering aid to villages in Iraq that were hit by extremists. While on mission, I met a Swiss doctor, Angela Ziegler and I…_

Hanzo struggled to write the next few words as they were hard to admit. But he had to. He had to do it. He knew that it would make him feel better. His hands shook as he slowly began to write.

 _...fell in love with her._

Once he wrote that, he fought back tears that were beginning to erupt but was unsuccessful and coughed as tears began to stream from his eyes. He sniffled and rubbed his eyes as he took a few moments to let the feelings pass over him. It was better to get it over with. It took him a good few minutes for him to regain his composure. He took a few deep breaths and then picked up his pen again.

 _I fell in love with her and now, I want to find her. Or at least what became of her. I haven't seen her in over 4 years, not since the incident. And I can't find out anything about her. I've tried everything, and nobody knows anything. Now, I'm beginning to wonder if she ever made it out alive. But at the behest of my brother, I'm writing out how I really feel. And already, it's been very therapeutic._

Hanzo looked at the words and then ripped the page out, crumpled it up and then tossed it into the trash in pure frustration. He wanted to scream. But he didn't. He stood up and then paced around his room for a little before sitting back down again. He picked up his pen. This time, he'd write no matter what came out. Perfect wording be damned.

 _My name is Hanzo Shimada, and I'm a soldier who fell in love with a doctor. This is my story._


	2. Nightmare

AN: I wrote this chapter in the most unusual of places. I was having kind of a bad day, so I got in my car and I drove around and ended up a few hours away from home on some empty mountain road just outside of Lausanne. Got out and walked around for a while and now I'm sitting in the passenger seat of my VW off the side of the road, overlooking the scenery with the seat heater on full power keeping my buns warm, Bruno Mars' 24K Magic album softly playing, writing this chapter while it's freezing outside. Now I have to drive all the way back home. By myself. While it's pitch black outside. Good times.

* * *

 _It all started off as a simple mission; the UN decided that they would help some villages in the northeast of Iraq. It was straightforward; bring them food, bring them clean water and bring in the doctors to treat the wounded and the sick. But nothing is ever that simple. Personally, I don't understand how I got selected as the leader of the security detail. Japan's presence in the Middle East is pretty much non-existent. For all intents and purposes, they should've selected an American for the job. In all honesty though, I was pretty excited to get the job. At least, at first I was._

"Alright, everyone load up. Get your mags filled and your vests tight." Hanzo ordered.

He looked down at his folder and read the list.

"Jackson, make sure you've got that M60 in working order." he said, "Never know what we're coming up against."

"Oh, believe me sir, I've been in enough firefights to know. Did I tell you about the one time…" the American Marine was cut off.

"Save it for another time, Corporal." Hanzo said, holding his hand up.

Jackson muttered something under his breath about people always ignoring him, going back to tuning up his M60. Hanzo looked around and spotted the girl he was looking for.

"Oxton, heads up!"

Hanzo tossed his folder in the air over a few people's heads who were loading up their magazines with ammo. The British solder looked up and caught the folder just before it smacked her in the head. She looked down and then flashed thumbs up.

"Gotcha, Lieutenant. Consider it done."

"I'm going to check up on the Medical Team. Hold the floor."

"Yes, sir!" Oxton replied.

Hanzo exited their tent and made his way over to the tent with the large red cross flag flying above it.

 _To be totally honest, I didn't know what to expect when I first made my way to the medical team's tent. I was expecting the leader to be a complete fruit with no grasp of reality. I wasn't expecting what I actually saw. At least with the head of the medical team. In fact, if I'm being totally up front, she was nothing that I was expecting out of a medical doctor at all._

Hanzo threw the entrance flap to the side and entered. When he got inside, he saw the sight of doctors filling up bags with medical equipment and going over vials of medicine and such. They all turned to look at him when he entered. The warrior was clearly not welcome in the space of healers. One of them walked up to him.

"Is there something I can help you with?" he asked, a French doctor.

"Are you Dr. Ziegler?" Hanzo asked.

"Well that entirely depends on who's asked." the doctor responded.

Hanzo raised an eyebrow at that.

"Henri, is there something the matter?"

Hanzo turned and looked at the person who said that and he almost did a double-take. The woman, who he thought was German because of the accent but then saw the Swiss flag patch on her shoulder, was absolutely beautiful. She made her way up next to Henri and looked at Hanzo.

"Who is this?" she asked.

"This jarhead wants to speak to Dr. Ziegler. Should we send him off?" he asked.

The Swiss woman turned to her colleague and motioned him to leave.

"It's alright, Henri. I'll take care of this. Go back to what you were doing."

"Are you sure, Mercy?"

"Absolutely."

Henri grumbled something under his breath before turning around and going back to his task at hand. Mercy turned and then looked at Hanzo.

"I'm sorry about my colleague. He's a little overprotective." she apologised.

"Mercy?" Hanzo questioned.

She laughed at that, shaking her head a little.

"Oh, that's just a nickname. I am Dr. Ziegler. Angela Ziegler." she said, extending her hand out.

Hanzo reached out and shook her hand.

"You must be Lieutenant Shimada."

"That's me."

"What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"

Hanzo looked her up and down.

"So you're Dr. Ziegler, then?" Hanzo said, "I wasn't expecting a woman."

Mercy let out a small chuckle at that.

"Is there a problem with that?" she asked.

Hanzo sucked in a breath and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, I mean, this isn't exactly a place where I'd expect a woman to be leading a team into a high-risk area." Hanzo mused, "I mean no offense, of course."

"I assure you, Lieutenant, I am more than capable of leading this team." Mercy told him, "After all, I was in the Army myself throughout medical school. I know how to handle myself on a battlefield."

Hanzo let out a breath and shrugged his shoulders.

"It's your funeral..." he mumbled.

Mercy hugged her clipboard to her chest and looked over her shoulder to her team.

"Will that be all, Lieutenant? I'm a very busy woman and I have many things to attend to before we embark on our mission." she said sharply before turning to face him again, not appreciating his remark.

Hanzo faced her and then nodded his head.

"For now. I just wanted to see who I was working with." he said, "But just remember, doc; you can't and probably won't save everyone. So don't get your hopes up too high." Hanzo told her seriously.

"I'll be the judge of that, Lieutenant, thank you very much." Mercy shot back, "I'm the doctor here, not you. You have your job, I have mine."

"Yes, and my job is to make sure your team is safe so that you can do your job, and that's exactly what I intend to do." Hanzo retaliated back.

"Are we going to have an issue, Lieutenant?"

"I don't know, Doc; are we?"

Mercy shot him a hard gaze. Hanzo stared right back at her. The medical tent went motionless as all attention turned to the head doctor and the Lieutenant.

"You should probably go now."

"I think I will."

They stared each other down for a moment longer before Hanzo turned around and left the tent. Mercy turned to look at her colleagues, who she noticed were all watching.

"What are you all doing? Get back to work!"

 _Our first meeting was...less than stellar. We definitely butted heads big time. I remember when I first left that tent after meeting with her, I was about ready to shut the whole mission down to get a replacement doctor in. But something stopped me from doing that I don't know what it was, even to this day. Maybe it was her attitude; the way she stood up. Maybe it was because I knew that she was highly qualified, at least on paper. Maybe it was because deep down inside, I already knew there was something special about her. I'm still not 100% sure. But one thing's for certain, I didn't go through with that complaint. There was a voice inside my head that told me not to, and I listened to it. Looking back retrospectively, I'm glad I did. But in that moment? I was questioning myself every step of the way._

 _The ride over to the village took way longer than I care to admit. Our caravan was scheduled to make it to the village by 1100, but we didn't end up making it there until almost 1400 hours; 3 hours late. And for reference, we left from base camp at 0500 hours. Yeah. Let that sink in for a moment. But it wasn't exactly what I'd call 'smooth sailing'. There were lots of setbacks and miscommunications with the medical team. The peak was when Dr. Ziegler and I went at each others' throats playing the blame game. In fact, I think that I was 'this' close to putting hands on her. Not exactly a highlight of the whole trip._

People inside of the caravan watched from the safety of the vehicle as Dr. Ziegler and Lt. Shimada verbally battled it out. From inside the vehicles, all anyone saw were the two flailing their arms about and getting red in the face. For those not in well sound-insulated vehicles, a nuclear war of words was going on between the two. Some people were legitimately fearing that fists would start flying.

"This is why doctors aren't on the field, Dr. Ziegler! Your incompetence completely prevents anything from being done on time or the way that it needs to be!" Hanzo shouted.

"Oh don't give me that, Lieutenant! If you and your men were even halfway responsible, we wouldn't even be in this mess! Don't try to pin the blame on me!" Mercy shouted back.

"My men were on time and ready to go exactly in the timeframe of the mission! It was _your_ little fuckup that set us back nearly three hours, doc! Don't forget that!" he said as he pointed at her.

" _My_ fuckup?!" Mercy screamed incredulously as she pointed at herself.

She then redirected her finger and pointed it at him, shaking it with authority.

"For your information, _my_ team had to clean up loose ends that _your_ team failed to recognise and rectify! Even a 10 year-old child wouldn't have made half the mistakes your men had!" she barked.

"Are you implying that I wasn't following protocol?!"

"No Lieutenant, I'm not implying that!" Mercy said, "I'm goddamn telling you that! This is _your_ SNAFU, not mine!"

" _MY_ SNAFU?! You fucking cunt…"

Hanzo looked like he was about to strangle her. Mercy looked like she wanted him to try. However, they were (fortunately) interrupted by the lead truck.

"Yo, LT. HQ is on the radio for you!" Oxton called.

Hanzo looked over at her and then back at Mercy, pointing at her.

"Don't think this is over, doc."

Hanzo then stormed off to the lead truck to take the radio. Everyone else let out a visible sigh of relief. Mercy also let out a breath as she rubbed her temples. Henri came out and walked over to her.

"Are you alright, Mercy?" he asked her as he placed his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them.

"I'm fine, Henri. Thank you."

"I told you he can't be trusted." Henri spat.

Mercy didn't respond to that, just continuing to rub her temples. A few moments later, she heard the door to the lead truck open and watched as Hanzo got out.

"Everyone back inside. We're moving out."

He specifically looked over at Mercy, who gave him a stone gaze.

"That means you too, doc."

"I know that, Lieutenant." Mercy shot back.

Hanzo made a motion with his hands.

"Move out!"

The trucks then began to move and Mercy and Henri went into their vehicle before it took off as well.

 _Once we got into the village, I got that weird butterfly feeling at the pit of my stomach. I knew something was going to happen. I didn't know what, of course, but I just had this undying feeling that something would. I told my men to stay extra vigilant while the medical team unloaded and began treatment of villagers in need. There were certainly no shortage of people wanting or needing help from the doctors. But after a while, that sinking feeling got even deeper. So I had no choice but to speak with Mercy once again. I was less than pleased at that but…_

Hanzo had a hard time trying to find Mercy. She had left with another team to go hut-to-hut to treat people who couldn't make their way out to the front of the village where the trucks and most of the team were located. He went through many of the houses before bursting through the door of the home that Mercy was in. When he burst through, he saw her treating an elderly man. She turned and looked over at him, clearly displeased.

"Lieutenant, what the hell are you doing here?" she said, "Can't you see that I'm busy?"

Henri, who was also with the team, got up and walked over to Hanzo and began to try to usher him out of the house.

"Get out, jarhead! This is a place of he…!"

Henri was suddenly cut off when Hanzo punched him square in the face, sending Henri to the ground, grabbing his face. The other's gasped at that. Henri, looked at his hands and saw blood all over them, confirming that his nose was broken. Mercy ran over to Hanzo and gave him a shove.

"What is your problem, Lieutenant?!" she shouted, "Is attacking unarmed doctors your favourite passtime?!"

"I need to talk to you, doctor. This is urgent."

"He broke my nose!" Henri cried from the ground, "He broke my fucking nose!"

"What the hell is so urgent that you have to strike one of my team members in the face and break his nose?!"

"It's a matter of security, doctor. Now can I talk to you?" Hanzo said matter-of-factly.

Mercy grit her teeth and then looked at the rest of the team and motioned them to carry on without her before facing Hanzo again.

"You have 5 minutes to explain yourself." she said, her voice dripping with venom.

He motioned her to follow him outside. She begrudgingly followed him outside. Once they were, Hanzo turned to look at her.

"Alright, listen; I know that we got off on a bad foot…" he was cut off by Mercy.

"More like you're a complete asshole."

"Like I was saying; I know we got off on a bad foot, but I'm not having a great feeling about this mission, and I need your cooperation to ensure…"

"Oh, you need my _cooperation_ now, do you?" she laughed, "You mean you're actually going to rely on me working with you now?"

"Doc, I know I'm a thorn in your side and you're no doubt a thorn in mine, but right now we need to keep it business." Hanzo told her, "After this mission, we never have to see each other again, but while we're on mission, I'd like to make it back alive."

Mercy sucked in a breath and then let it out slowly. She then nodded her head.

"Alright, Lieutenant. This one mission." she said.

"Good." Hanzo nodded.

She then pointed her finger at him and narrowed her gaze.

"But after this mission, I don't ever want to see you again."

"Fair enough." he said.

Mercy nodded her head and then straightened herself out.

"What do you need me to do?" she asked.

"I just want you to be extra vigilant. Extra careful. If anything seems out of place; anything at all. Call for backup."

"Is that it?" she asked.

Right before Hanzo was able to answer that, a rocket flew right past them and hit the house right next to them. The shockwave sent the two to the ground and everyone flew into a frenzied panic. Hanzo shook his head and looked around as other rockets came in and struck other houses around. Mercy groaned as she sat up.

"What...what's going on?"

"My worst nightmare…"

Mercy looked over at him.

"What?"

Hanzo got up to his feet and then made his way over to Mercy, getting her up onto her feet.

"Come on, let's go! We need to move! Now!"

 _I had no idea that the wildest ride of my life was about to take place._


	3. Capture

AN: Last chapter update of 2016! Tomorrow is a new year! Happy New Year, everyone!

* * *

 _The first thing that came to mind was that I had to get back to the trucks, as they're no doubt beginning to drive off after the rockets started flying. I already heard a couple of the medical trucks take off in fervour as my men began to return fire in the direction of the rockets. My first instinct was to get Mercy back to the safety of the trucks and into the next one taking off, but she had other plans._

"Come on, doctor! We need to get back, now!" Hanzo said as he grabbed her arm and tried to pull her in the direction of the trucks.

"Wait! But...Henri and the others!" she said as she resisted him, trying to go back into the house to check on her team.

"We'll come back for him later, but right now, we need to get you to safety right now!"

" _Lieutenant! Are you alright?_ " Oxton came over the radio.

"I'm fine, Tracer! What's going on?!" Hanzo shouted into the radio.

" _Your guess is just as good as mine, LT! The rockets just started flying! We're beginning evac of the med team, but we're missing the lead team. Do you have a positive on their location?_ "

"I've got Dr. Ziegler and her team with me right now. I'm coming back with them…"

He stopped as he watch Mercy rip away from him and back into the house to get the rest of her team.

"Doctor! Where do you think you're going! Come back here!"

" _What the hell is going on? Talk to me, LT!_ "

"Dr. Ziegler just ran off! I'm going after her!"

" _Don't take too long, Lieutenant! Most of the convoy has already left! We'll try to hold off long enough for you to get back here, but we can't hold out for too long!_ "

"Roger that. If I'm not back in 5 minutes, take off without us. That's an order!"

" _Ye...yes sir! Final truck leaving in 5! Be careful out there, LT! Tracer, out!_ "

Hanzo then went to run after Mercy. However, when he got close to the house, another rocket sailed through the air and hit the house, sending him flying back.

 _When that rocket hit the house, it knocked me out for a moment. I don't know how long I was out for, but I just remember waking up to Mercy trying to get me to wake up. Which was a surprise to me, if I'm being straightforward._

"Lieutenant! Lieutenant, wake up!"

Hanzo was groggy as his eyes slowly opened. As they focused, he saw Mercy standing over him with a frantic look on her face and blood splatters all over her.

"Do...Doctor. What...are you alright?" he asked as he sat up.

"I'm fine. Don't worry, it's not my blood." she said to him, "Are _you_ alright, Lieutenant?"

"About as fine as I can be...all things considered." he groaned as he tried to get up.

Mercy helped him onto his feet. Normally, he would've rebuffed the offer but in all honesty, he needed the help. Once he was on his feet, he rolled his neck and shoulders and then looked Mercy up and down.

"If that's not your blood, who's is it?"

Mercy bit her lower lip before turning her head and looking away.

"Henri's."

For once, Hanzo actually felt bad for her. And him. He didn't know what to say amidst all of the noise and chaos.

"I…" he started.

Mercy looked up at him with a determined look.

"We need to get out of here, Lieutenant! We're wasting time!"

He stared at her a moment before nodding his head. He looked to the side where his rifle flew and then picked it up and then motioned her to follow and the two began to make their way towards the trucks, which were beginning to take off. Hanzo led Mercy through all of the bullets and rockets, periodically taking cover and returning fire before continuing through the village. They then turned a corner and when they did, a rocket came and hit the building next to them, sending both flying back and knocking them out.

 _I'm not exactly sure how it happened still. We were running through and then we turned a corner and then everything went black. How we managed to survive a blast at that close of a range still blows my mind. I don't believe in a higher power, but if there is one out there, he, she or it had our 6's that day. I do vaguely remember waking up for just a moment. Long enough to hear that Sgt. Oxton had waited twice as long as I had told her to. And the consequences of her doing that._

"Sergeant, it's been almost 10 minutes. We were supposed to leave 2 minutes ago. The Lieutenant gave us the order…"

"Hail the radio again." Tracer said abruptly, her eyes still scanning.

The two soldiers looked at each other before looking back at her.

"Ma'am, we've tried that. He isn't responding."

"Well try again!"

They sighed and then the radio operator put the radio up to his face.

"Lieutenant, please respond, over."

Nothing.

"Lieutenant, if you are receiving this transmission, please respond by voice or morse code, over."

Still nothing. They then looked back at her.

"No response, Sarge. Let's go."

"Just a couple more minutes!"

"Ma'am, you've said that already. Twice. We need to go. Now. Before the enemy boxes us in and none of us will make it out."

"Are you questioning my orders, specialist?!" Tracer barked suddenly.

This startled the specialist and actually made him jump a little. He looked at her hard gaze and then shook his head at that.

"N...no ma'am."

"That's what I thought." she said, "A couple more minutes. Stay sharp."

"Ye...yes, ma'am." both said.

Tracer returned to scanning the area intently. The soldier on the .50 looked down at the other two soldiers and after exchanging a few looks, returned to scanning the area.

Meanwhile in the village, Hanzo slowly returned to consciousness, but just barely. He couldn't move or even really speak. But he heard his team trying to contact him on his radio. As they were hailing him, he tried really hard to reach his hand to his radio, but he just couldn't. He could barely even lift his hand up. He looked over to the side and saw Mercy lying unconscious as well.

"Doctor…" he croaked as he tried to reach out to her.

Finally, he had exerted so much effort just trying to lift his hand up, that he fell unconscious again.

" _LT! Come in, LT!_ " Tracer came over the radio.

More time had passed since Tracer had ordered them to wait a 'couple more' minutes. After hailing the radio herself a few more times and getting nothing, she shut her eyes and dropped her head and shoulders. This was it. She knew that she couldn't stay any longer. She put the radio up to her face.

"Following orders to leave without you. I...I'm sorry, LT…"

She then turned her head towards her men.

"Alright, gentlemen. We're leaving." Tracer said, the sound of defeat completely laced in her tone as she gave the radio back to the specialist.

"I'm sorry, sergeant. You did what you could." the specialist said to her.

"Yeah, well, that wasn't enough." Tracer said, shaking her head in defeat.

"Don't beat yourself up, sarge. You were here with us. There wasn't anything you could do." the gunner said from behind the machine gun.

Tracer said nothing. As they moved to get into the humvee, enemy militants stormed the area and opened fire on them. The specialist got struck in the leg, sending him falling to the ground, gripping his leg and screaming in pain.

"Holy shit! Fucking waste the bloody cunts!" Tracer shouted at the gunner.

He wasted no time opening fire with the .50 cal. Meanwhile, the other solder got inside while Tracer went up to the specialist and dragged him onto the other side of the humvee. As he was being dragged, he mustered up enough strength to draw his pistol and begin firing in the enemy's direction. Along the way, she got struck in the helmet by a stray round, making her head snap to the side from the force and making her fall to the ground. She shook her head and got back up and with the help of the other solder, got inside and dragged the specialist in as well. Once they were in, and before they even closed the door, the driver slammed on the throttle and they were off.

 _I did hear her saying that she was following orders to leave me behind. I didn't blame her. I still don't. And I have no doubt that the decision laid heavy on her conscious. I wish I could seek her out and let her know that I was alright and that I forgive her. I haven't heard from Oxton, or 'Tracer', since the incident. I wonder if she's alright. Anyways, I came back to in the worst way possible; as I was regaining consciousness, we were being swarmed. I wasn't sure if anything could've been worse in that moment. I prepared for the worst. Not death, but torture. These people were ruthless and the would not grant a quick death. That much, I knew._

Back in the village, Hanzo slowly regained consciousness again as enemy militants swarmed the village. He looked around and then saw one of them approaching Mercy. He reached for his pistol on his chest rig but when he drew it, another came from the side and kicked it out of his hand before shoving an AK in his face and shouting at him in Arabic.

"Fuck you!" Hanzo spat.

He looked over at Mercy, who was beginning to regain consciousness and was suddenly pulled out of her daze when the enemy grabbed her by her hair and she screamed.

"Get away from her!" he screamed, "Get the fuck away from her!"

"Lieutenant! Help m...argh!" Mercy screamed as she was tossed like a ragdoll off to the side by her hair.

Hanzo tried to get up but the enemy who had kicked his gun out of his hand placed his boot on his chest and pushed him back down, shouting at him more still in Arabic. Hanzo didn't understand what he was saying.

"Don't touch her, you filthy piece of shit! Touch her again and I'll fucking kill you! I'll fucking kill you!" Hanzo roared.

However, he was struck in the face by the butt of an AK rifle, silencing him, but not knocking him out. He groaned as he looked over at Mercy, who was being primed to be raped.

"No...don't fucking touch her...I'll kill you all...I'll fucking kill you…" he croaked.

He was kicked again.

"Fuck you…" he groaned.

"Doctor…" he said as he reached out in her direction.

 _I was so distraught at what was about to happen. And so many thoughts ran through my mind, berating both the doctor as well as myself. The doctor for taking the risk to come out and myself...for not being able to protect her when she needed me most. Deep down inside, I knew that this was going to happen should we have been captured. It didn't surprise me when the scene was unfolding. I'm still not entirely sure as to why, but in that moment, I would've rather endured the most cruel torture enacted on me than watch Mercy get treated so inhumanely. But if there is a higher power, he/she/it was definitely watching our backs._

Suddenly, the enemy who was about to pull her pants down was suddenly struck in the head with a sniper round, sending him falling to the side. When he landed next to Mercy, she looked at him, a huge bullet wound in the face, and she let out a blood curling scream at the grizzly sight being only centimetres away from her. That made the other enemy tending to Hanzo look over. He jumped and was about to say something but he was struck in the head by a sniper round as well. Hanzo looked around at who could've done that. He didn't hear any gunshot nor the cracking of a bullet. Whoever fired those off was using a suppressor and subsonic ammo. They were also probably very close by and it definitely couldn't be one of his men as he didn't have any snipers on his team, not to mention they've all left by now. Regardless, the sudden silent death of two of their men sent the others firing in random directions. As they did, each one began to get picked off one by one. While the chaos was going on, Hanzo took this opportunity to begin to crawl, very slowly, towards Mercy, who had curled up in the fetal position and began mumbling incoherencies under her breath and shaking uncontrollably.

"Mercy…" Hanzo croaked as he crawled at a snail's pace towards her.

She had an empty gaze in her eyes and didn't respond to him. The number of enemies dwindled. One ordered another to secure Hanzo and Mercy and right when he did, he was struck in the heart. The other ran over towards Hanzo and Mercy but when he got up to them, the sniper popped out of cover just down the way.

"Sni…!" he pointed and called out the sniper's position but then the sniper shot him in the throat before he could finish, gurgling and grabbing his throat as he collapsed to the ground and drowning in his own blood as it pooled all around him.

His cry was enough to get the attention of the remaining few. The sniper ran towards Hanzo and Mercy, opening fire and hitting the others as they tried to gun down the sniper. The sniper made their way up to Hanzo, who was trying to get up. He looked up at the cloaked sniper and noticed the VSS Vintorez in their hand. The sniper most definitely wasn't one of his.

"Who…" Hanzo started.

The sniper pulled the hood off to reveal a woman wearing an eyepatch, who shushed him.

"Shhhhh. You're going to be alright." she said.

Hanzo couldn't really make out her face since his vision was so blurry. All he knew was that the sniper was a woman wearing an eyepatch and using a Vintorez rifle, and she most definitely wasn't Russian. Suddenly, another enemy came out and rushed her with a knife. Her head snapped in his direction and then got up and caught his wrist when he swiped at her with her opposing hand and twisted and pushed out at the same time, exposing the crook of his knee. She quickly kicked the back of his knee to send him down onto a knee and then gripped the crook of his elbow to create a lever point and then twisting her entire upper body to create enough force to overcome his resistance and drove his hand to his neck, making him drive his own knife into his throat before shoving him to the ground gurgling. Someone rushed her from the opposite direction but it was a young rookie and she easily caught him and threw him overhead and sending him to his back on the ground before lifting her foot up and then bringing it crashing down onto his throat, killing him instantly. The last one popped from the corner. The sniper rushed him as he shouldered his rifle. But before he could aim, she smacked his rifle down with her left hand before striking his ribs with open palms with a right-left before winding up and delivering a haymaker with a hard right straight jab, sending him collapsing to the ground. She quickly shouldered her own rifle as he tried to get up. When he lifted his head up, he was staring down the barrel of her rifle. He adopted a shocked expression for a second before she pulled the trigger and blew his brains out at point-blank range. And that was the last round in her magazine as the bolt locked open. She took a few breaths before turning around and walking back to Hanzo, who was shocked, but impressed by her display of martial skill.

"Who...are...you…?" Hanzo asked.

"Shhhhh. You're in good hands."

When she said that, Hanzo fell unconscious.

 _The last thing I remember at that point was falling unconscious for a moment and then regaining consciousness again just for a couple of seconds as I was being dragged off. I wanted to scream; I didn't know where I was being dragged off to. But regardless, there was only one thing that I was worried about; I just wanted to make sure Mercy was okay. And I've never felt so useless as in that moment, I wasn't even able to do my job._


	4. Sortie Prep

_I'm not exactly sure how long passed between the time that we were knocked out and the time that we woke up, but it was clearly a long time. At the time, I had only faintly remembered being saved by a woman with a blue cloak. But I was so out of it at the time, that I didn't know if it was a dream or reality. Of course, that made itself very apparent when I woke up. I was completely blown away by who it was that had saved us. She was nothing like I expected._

Hanzo's eyes slowly began to flutter open and he began to move around.

"I was wondering if one of you were ever going to wake up." came an elderly woman's voice.

Hanzo groaned as his vision began to clear and he saw an old woman with an eye patch sipping on tea watching over them on the other side of the fire, her Vintorez rifle leaning on the wall next to her. He struggled to sit up and face her.

"They just don't make these tea bags like they used to. Not enough flavour."

Hanzo looked at her and was surprised to find that she was a much older woman. Was this the same person who saved them earlier? She sure looked like her, but he couldn't be too sure. She looked awfully old to be pulling the moves he saw.

"Who...are you?" he asked, his voice groggier than he was expecting.

"Now isn't that the question of the century?" the woman replied as she took another sip of tea.

Hanzo looked around and saw Mercy just on the other side of the fire, next to the woman. She was still out but she looked so peaceful.

"You two found yourselves in quite the situation, hm?" the woman mused.

Hanzo turned his attention back to her.

"Is Mercy okay?" Hanzo asked.

"Mercy? Is that her name?" she said as she looked over the sleeping blonde.

Hanzo mentally smacked himself for revealing her name. But at least it was her callsign and not her actual name, so there was that. The woman stared at Mercy on the ground for a little longer before facing Hanzo again.

"Your friend is fine. She's just a little shaken up, bruises and scratches aside."

"Why did you help us?" Hanzo asked.

"Now is that what you want to be asking the person who just helped you?" the woman chuckled, "The fact that I did just isn't enough for you, huh?"

"You didn't answer my question." Hanzo told her.

"Quite right, I didn't." she said before taking a sip from her tea cup.

 _The woman was speaking in confusing terms and answering questions with questions, completely dodging what I was trying to ask her. There was a part of me that said 'trust no one', but there was another part of me that kicked that part and said 'she just saved your ass single-handedly'. At first glance, I would've thought that I could easily overpower her if needed, but if she was indeed the one from earlier who saved us, then I didn't want to get cocky and think that she'd go down easily. Sure, in a purely physical sense, I had superiority over her; I was bigger than her in every way. But this woman clearly had skill, especially for her age; I knew physicality wouldn't be enough. During sparring sessions, I got my ass handed to me the hardest by guys, and girls, smaller and shorter than me._

She then set her cup to the side and then looked at Hanzo.

"You're from Japan?" she asked, motioning towards his flag patch on his shoulder.

"What does it matter to you?"

"Are you like this with everyone you meet?"

"Only when I'm in a hostile land and I have no idea if who I'm talking to is a friend or foe."

The old woman stared at him before letting out a hearty laugh. Hanzo remained unfazed by it. She calmed down, wiping a tear that rolled down her eye.

"Ah, you youngsters." she mused aloud.

"You still haven't told me who you are or why you helped us." Hanzo told her, "What do you want?"

When he said that, Mercy groaned and moved around a little. Hanzo's attention snapped to her and he moved over towards her.

"Mercy, are you alright?" he asked her.

Mercy's eyes slowly fluttered open, her voice croaking.

"Ughh...Lieu...Lieutenant…" she croaked, "What...what's going...on…?"

"I'm trying to figure that out." he told her before glaring at the older woman, who just had a smug grin on her face.

 _I tried to act hard in the face of the older woman before us. I did it for Angela, to protect her. But the sniper had been around for much longer than I; she saw right through it._

Mercy slowly sat up with Hanzo's help and looked over at the older woman.

"Who are...who are you?" she asked, beginning to regain consciousness.

"A friend who just helped you." she responded.

Mercy groaned again as she placed her hand on her head, her head throbbing. Hanzo placed his hand on her shoulder and leaned down to her level.

"I'll be fine, Lieutenant." Mercy said as she held her hand up, "Thank you."

The woman took another sip from her cup of tea before reaching forward and grabbing the hot water kettle next to the fire and pouring more into her cup. Mercy watched as she did this. When the woman set the kettle back down, she relaxed back a little and brought the cup up to her lips and was about to drink from it until she saw Mercy watching her and they locked eyes.

"How are you feeling, dear?" she asked her.

"I'm...I'm feeling fine." Mercy responded.

"Good. I'm glad to hear that." she said before taking a sip.

"Why did you help us? I didn't see you around the village." Mercy said.

"You didn't see me here because I'm not from here." the woman told her.

"So then why did you help?"

"Help? I was just passing by, dear."

Mercy looked confused. The older woman chuckled. She shifted around a moment, making herself a little more comfortable. She stared at the two before breaking the silence.

"You know, your friends waited for you for much longer than you told them to. They really wanted to save you." she said.

Mercy looked down and to the side. Hanzo looked confused.

"How do you know that?"

"Because I saw them holding off." she said, "The only reason they took off was because one of them got hit, so they took off."

Hanzo looked down at that, thinking a moment before looking back at the woman.

"Do you know how long they waited there for?" he asked, almost desperate to know.

"I don't know exactly, but I did overhear them saying that you told them to wait 5 minutes, but they were there well over 10."

Hanzo looked back down again.

"Tracer...why did you wait? I told you to go..." Hanzo whispered to himself under his breath.

Mercy looked at him and then placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright, Lieutenant?" she asked.

Hanzo shook his head at that.

"I'm...I'm fine. Just...don't…don't worry about it." he said as he whisked her hand off of his shoulder, trying to shake off his short moment of weakness.

Mercy bit her lower lip when he did that. His humanity was showing now; he may be a rough-and-tumble soldier on the outside but on the inside, he was still human. Of course, it was easy to forget that in the moment when dealing with him on the surface level as he was really good at putting on a face; Asians were really good at doing that, for better or for worse. After giving him a moment, the older woman broke the silence once again.

"So, what's your plan now?" she asked.

Hanzo looked up at her.

"Well...to get to a friendly city and get home." Hanzo said, "That sounds really nice."

He then looked at Mercy.

"But I'm not exactly sure where the closest friendly city is. Going back to Najaf would take too long on foot; we'd die of dehydration long before we're found by Daesh."

"Then it sounds like you need to go to Fallujah; the closest coalition-allied city." the older woman told him.

They both looked at her.

"Fallujah? Isn't that…" Mercy started.

"About 180 kilometres east of here." the woman said.

"I was afraid you'd say that." Mercy mumbled.

"Yeah, but we don't have much of a choice now." Hanzo told her, "Our only other option is to stay here and get shot up by Daesh, or worse."

"What's worse than getting shot up?" Mercy asked.

"You don't want to know, child. Trust me." the older woman told her, "A beautiful woman like you in the hands of Daesh? You really don't want to know."

That made Mercy swallow a lump in her throat she didn't know she had.

"So it's settled then." Hanzo announced, "We head off to Fallujah."

Mercy slowly nodded her head.

"It will be a 3-to-5 day trek on foot, depending on how much ground you decide to cover each day." the woman said, "Plan accordingly."

"Will we have enough food and water for such a long journey?" Mercy inquired.

"There should be more than enough supplies around for you to scavenge." the woman said.

"Good point." Hanzo nodded, "But what about the villagers? Won't the object?"

"They killed almost everyone here when they arrived. Those who survived are long gone to the village over." the woman told him.

Hanzo just shook his head at that.

"And what about you?" Mercy asked the older woman.

Attention turned to her. The woman smiled.

"What about me?"

"What are you going to do?"

The woman chuckled at that.

"Well, I'm going to do what I do best; drift from town to town."

"Aren't you worried they're going to try to hunt you down?" Hanzo asked.

"An old woman like me? Absolutely not. Not when they're too busying trying to hunt _you_ down." she said, "And as far as they're concerned, you two killed their men. So I have nothing to worry about."

"Touche."

She drank more of her tea before standing up and then opening up the chest that she was sitting on.

"Here you go, Lieutenant. I'm sure you'll appreciate having this back."

She pulled out his Type 89 and then tossed it over at him. He caught it and looked it over, nodding his head.

"Yeah, thanks."

She then pulled out a SIG 550 and looked over at Mercy.

"I'm sure this looks familiar to you." she said.

"It does, but I prefer it not to." Mercy responded, looking at the rifle with despair.

"Well you'd better learn to prefer it. Everyone has to fight here. Men, women, even children sometimes." she said before tossing her the rifle.

Mercy caught it and then looked it over and then back up at the woman.

"And remember, always save the last one for yourself." she said before tossing her a single cartridge.

Mercy clumsily caught the cartridge and swallowed a lump in her throat when she realised what she meant by it, looking up at the woman.

"Is that really necessary?" she asked.

"Believe me, it's good advice." Hanzo said to her.

Mercy sucked in a long breath and then let it out slowly, nodding her head. The woman looked at the watch on her wrist and then adjusted her sleeve, closing the chest and sitting back down and picking up her tea cup to finish.

"Morning is here. I have to get going now." she said, taking large gulps from her tea cup.

She then stood up and then picked up a MOLLE plate carrier vest with 3 magazine pouches with 2 mags each leaning against the chest and held it out to her.

"Here, you'd better put this on."

Mercy nodded her head and then took the carrier and pulled it over herself, tightening it down. The woman went behind her and then helped secure it from the back.

"There's no plates in here, but it'll do."

"Speaking of." Hanzo said.

He turned around and looked at the older woman, motioning her to come over and help him. She knew what he wanted. Mercy had no idea. She walked over and opened the back of his plate carrier and pulled out the plate covering his back, closing it back up. Hanzo then turned around.

"Take my back plate. It doesn't have a shooters cut, but it's better than nothing."

"Lieutenant...you don't…" Mercy started.

"He's right. Better you have his back than the plate. Plates don't shoot back." the woman said to her.

Mercy slowly nodded her head. The woman opened the front of her carrier and dropped the plate in. Mercy was surprised at the weight.

"Wow, this thing is really heavy!" she exclaimed as she tried to adjust her shoulders a little.

"Yeah, but it'll stop anything except a .50 BMG round or something similar." Hanzo said, "It'll hurt like a bitch and may even break a rib or two if you get hit, but that's better than taking a shot to the chest."

"I...I understand."

"Good. But also, be aware that plates can only stop a few rounds at best. You're not invincible; think of it as a 'second chance' card and only a second chance." the woman told her.

Mercy nodded her head.

"By the way, your English is superb." Mercy said to her, "Where did you learn it?"

The woman chuckled a little, staring at Mercy for a little before answering.

"When I was a young soldier in the Egyptian Army, I fell in love with an American soldier. He taught me."

"So you're Egyptian?" Hanzo asked, "What's an Egyptian doing in Iraq?"

She laughed a little.

"Well, Lieutenant; there are just some questions I'm not willing to answer."

Right when she said that, a rooster crowed, signaling that the sun was beginning to rise. The woman looked outside and then finished the last of her tea.

"Well, that's my signal to leave." she said.

She wiped the cup off on her cloak before sticking it back into her satchel bag and then standing up, grabbing her sniper rifle.

"If you two will excuse me, I have places to be." she said, "I wish you two luck on your journey."

She began to leave before Mercy called out to her.

"Wait a minute." Mercy said, "What's your name?"

The woman stopped in her tracks and smiled, though they couldn't see as her back was still towards them.

"Ana." she said, "My name is Ana."

And with that, she walked off into the dawn. Hanzo and Mercy watched as she disappeared off into the desert.

"I wonder who she really is." Mercy mused aloud.

"I'll tell you what she probably is." Hanzo said, his gaze still off in the direction of Ana.

"Hm?" Mercy hummed, looking up at him.

"UN black ops. How else would she know where we were or have a 550? Your Swiss rifles aren't exactly commonplace here in the sandbox."

"The UN has black ops?" Mercy said, raising an eyebrow.

"That's why they're called 'black ops'." Hanzo said, turning to her, "Because no one knows they exist."

With that, he turned around and walked off to gather supplies. Mercy watched him, thinking on it before adjusting her rifle on her shoulder and following after him.

 _I'm still not sure what divine power sent her to us, but I'm sure glad that she found us instead of them. After her departure, Mercy and I collected our things and scavenging supplies from various houses and we set off to make our way to Fallujah. This wouldn't be the last we saw of Ana; that I was sure of._


	5. The Beginning

_The whole journey up to this point was mostly in silence. We didn't really say much to each other outside of necessary communication. There was this tension between us that was rather uncomfortable. But I didn't have a desire at the time to change it up. As far as I was concerned then, I just wanted to get to Fallujah and get home. But Mercy...she...well, it was her that changed that feeling, bless her soul._

Mercy let out a breath as Hanzo motioned her to set her stuff down so he could check his map and take a short break. She tossed her pack to the ground behind the large rock and pulled out her canteen and took large gulp of water.

"Alright, we're making good progress. At this pace, we should be in Fallujah in the next few hours." Hanzo mused aloud.

He hummed when he felt Mercy pat his shoulder. He turned and faced her and she held her canteen out. He grabbed it and took a couple swigs from it before handing it back.

"Thanks." he said.

"Don't mention it." she said as she capped it off and then tossed it on top of her bag.

She let out another long breath as she pulled her rifle sling off of her and then leaned the rifle against the rock before plopping down and leaning against the rock as well, wiping the sweat from her forehead. She looked over at Hanzo, who was still looking at his map and making calculations. She stared at him for a little before motioning him with her hand.

"Lieutenant." she called out.

"Hm?" he hummed as his eyes didn't leave the map.

"Why don't you come here and get out of the sun?"

He didn't say anything but did comply with what she said, chewing on his lower lip in thought as he mindlessly made his way over to the rock she was sitting against and into the shade. She watched him carefully as he continued to calculate in his head.

"Everything going as planned?" she finally asked when she saw him fold the map back up and place it in one of his pouches, letting out a long exasperated sigh as he did so.

"About as much as it can be, all things considered." he responded, shaking his head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, chuckling a little as she imitated his head shake.

"It means that I couldn't imagine being in a more FUBAR situation than I am now." he said as he looked over at her.

"Well, everything seems to be going as planned, according to you." she said, "And we haven't faced any resistance at all thus far. That's got to count for something."

"Well you see, that's exactly the problem; we haven't faced any resistance thus far." Hanzo told her as he sat down across from her, "There's no way that they'd let us off that easily. Something's not right."

She looked at him as he sat down and noticed that he sat right at the edge of the shadow that the rock provided, removing his rifle and wrapping his arms around it, leaning against it for support. She motioned him over again and patted the spot next to her.

"Lieutenant. Come sit more in the shade. I won't bite, I promise." she said.

 _That was the first step towards me realising that I cared about her more than I let myself on to believe. It was such a small motion and at the time I didn't even see it, but her offering the seat next to her was huge. At least for me, it was. And it was huge to changing the overall feeling between us._

"Why does it matter to you?" he asked.

Mercy shrugged her shoulders, "Suit yourself, Lieutenant."

Hanzo looked at her a moment before getting up and relocating to the spot next to her, placing his rifle lying next to him. She looked over at him and then hissed, baring her teeth. That made him jump a little and his hand moved to his pistol as he looked at her, letting it fall from it immediately. Mercy laughed at that as she patted his shoulder.

"You're so jumpy. Relax, Lieutenant. It's just us out here." she said, "Us and a bunch of farmers, maybe some shepards. Maybe."

Hanzo clicked his tongue as he rolled his eyes and shook his head. Mercy continued watching Hanzo as he muttered incoherencies in Japanese. She didn't speak much Japanese; a few words at best. But she didn't need to be fluent to know that he was talking about her. " _Temee_ " this and " _kuso yarou_ " that. She leaned her head back until it touched the rock and then she tilted it towards him.

"You have anyone waiting for you when you get back, Lieutenant?" Mercy asked after a long bout of silence.

He snapped his head towards her, "Hm?"

"You know, you have a wife? Children?"

Hanzo quickly shook his head and rubbed the back of his head and looked the other way.

"Ah, uh, no." he said, coughing a little.

"No? Why not?" she asked, turning more towards him.

"What do you mean 'why not'?" Hanzo asked, "I just don't. How is that a 'why not' question?"

"Well, I mean, I just figured that you'd have someone waiting for you. I mean...well…" she said, stuttering and stopping herself from saying what she was about to say.

"Well what?" Hanzo asked.

"Well, I mean, you know…" she said as she scratched her chin, turning her gaze off to the side.

Hanzo hummed in question as he raised his eyebrow again. Mercy worked hard to fight off the redness that was wanting to surface on her cheeks.

"Well, I mean, you're not a bad-looking guy. I'd imagine that you'd be spoken for." she finally said.

"A...Ah…" Hanzo said, scratching his cheek as he turned the other direction.

There was an uncomfortable silence between the two as they stared in opposing directions for a few moments before Hanzo broke the silence.

"You?" he asked, "I'm sure your husband is worried about you."

Mercy laughed as she turned and faced him again.

"Oh, I don't have a husband. I'm single." she said, "Have been for many years."

"No way!" Hanzo said, turning towards her, "I don't believe you."

Mercy raised her left hand up and pointed with her other the lack of a wedding band on the ring finger.

"Well that doesn't mean anything. Most doctors I know don't wear a wedding ring, usually for sanitary reasons." he said.

"Well I'm not wearing one not because of sanitary reasons but because I'm not married, Lieutenant." Mercy said to him.

"Okay, boyfriend, then."

"Were you not listening to me?"

"How, though?" he asked, "You're too beautiful to not be taken."

He didn't realise what he said until the words came out and he covered his mouth. Mercy looked at him and chuckled.

"Thank you." she said to him.

 _I have to admit that at that point, I just wanted to disappear off of the face of the earth. I still don't know what came over me to say such a thing to her and in that moment, I was sure that she would provide a sharp rebuttal to me or something but...she didn't. In fact, she responded far better than I could've ever imagined._

"I...I'm sorry...I...I didn't mean…" Hanzo stuttered.

Mercy giggled at that.

"It's fine, Lieutenant. Saying I'm 'beautiful' is hardly an insult." she told him, "But it's true; I'm not taken. As I said, I've been single for years now. I don't even remember what a man's touch feels like."

She looked up to meet his gaze, smiling at him.

"But thank you for reminding me what it feels like to be complemented. I don't even remember the last time I received one." she thanked, "I hardly feel that way about myself, to be honest with you."

Hanzo felt his throat tighten and choke as her gaze and smile sent his heart fluttering in overdrive and butterflies to form in his stomach. He swallowed hard and then nodded his head a little, trying to regain himself.

"You're...you're welcome, doctor." he said.

"Angela."

"Hm?"

"Just...call me, 'Angela'." she told him.

He slowly nodded his head.

"Angie?" he asked.

Mercy laughed at that, "That's fine, too."

There was then another bout of silence between the two, but this time, it felt a lot more comfortable. The two were definitely beginning to get more comfortable around each other. Mercy looked over at Hanzo again to break the comfortable silence.

"So then, what are you going to do once you get back?" she asked him.

"Hmmm...I don't know. I haven't really thought about that yet." he said.

Mercy watched him as he thought about what to say next.

"I mean, I'm thinking about leaving the SDF if I ever make it out of here. I've been in long enough and I want to start living life on my own terms." he told her, "I've loved my time here in the SDF and I've learned so much but...I don't know...I think it's time I start making my own decisions in life, you know?"

"I hear you." Mercy nodded, "I'm thinking about starting a private practice, myself. Maybe a small clinic in the countryside. I have family in Urnäsch and I like it there. I'm thinking about leaving the hustle-bustle of Zürich and just opening a small clinic in Urnäsch. This mission has proven to provide more than enough adventure for one lifetime."

"Boy, do I ever hear you on that one."

"Yeah…"

After another bout of silence where both stared off into the sand in the distance, Mercy brought it back again, looking over at Hanzo once more.

"What do you want to do when you leave the military? Do you have any ideas?"

Hanzo just shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. Go back to school, maybe? But I just don't know for what, though. The military is all I've known my entire adult life. Even in childhood, my family on both sides were also in the military...or the Yakuza. I don't even know if I'm able to do anything else." Hanzo explained to her, "The only person who broke away from that was my brother, Genji. He went to school, got a degree, got a normal job, has a fiancee. No kids yet, but that will change soon."

Hanzo let out a small laugh as he shook his head.

"And to think that I used to bully him because he didn't join the SDF. How stupid I was to joke about how 'even joining the Yakuza would be better', too. He gets to be safe at home, making a good living and has a significant other while I'm out here, baking in the heat, getting shot at and potentially coming home in a body bag. I guess the joke's on me now. _Baka yarou, ore wa…_ " he said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

Mercy placed her hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring gentle squeeze.

"Hey, neither of us are going home in a body bag. We're making it out alive, you hear?"

Hanzo looked over at her.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just know. Call it feminine intuition. Or just 'intuition', doesn't have to be feminine."

Hanzo let out a loud 'hah' at that.

"You clearly don't know what it's like out here, Angie."

"Well, you've been out here as long as you have, survived what you have and you're still here, aren't you?" she shot back, "What makes you think this is any different?"

Hanzo nodded his head reluctantly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right…"

"Of course I am. I'm a woman, I'm never wrong." Mercy joked.

"Whatever. Keep thinking that, Angie." Hanzo said as he gave her a playful shove.

"I will, Lieutenant." she giggled as she playfully shoved him back.

Hanzo fell silent when she said that, making Mercy stop giggling and fall silent as well, clearing her throat.

 _It was at that point that I knew something had changed inside of me. I didn't quite know what it was at the time...hell, I_ still _don't know if I really do know what it was, but something had changed. Something changed because when she called me by my formal rank, it stung inside, like she just bitch-slapped me with all of her might._

"I...uh...sorry. I didn't mean to." Mercy apologised.

Hanzo shook his head at that, "No, it's alright. It's just...you can...you can call me 'Hanzo'."

"That is, if you want to. You don't have to, I'm not ordering you to or anything. I just…" Hanzo rambled.

Mercy smiled at him, placing her hand on his shoulder again which silenced him and made him look at her, cheeks slightly flushed.

"I like that name. 'Hanzo'. I will call you that from now on." Mercy said gently.

Hanzo slowly, for the first time in...he didn't even know how long...but he actually cracked a small smile.

"Good. I'm glad." he responded.

He looked off in the distance, somewhat at ease for the first time in a while.

"You know, it feels weird for someone other than family to call me by my name. Most just call me by my rank or by my last name. I'm so used to it that it feels a little funny to have someone other than my brother call me by me first name." Hanzo mused aloud.

"Is it a bad kind of funny?" she asked him.

Hanzo shook his head at that and looked back at her.

"No, absolutely not!" he exclaimed.

He cleared his throat at his sudden outburst.

"Erm...I mean, no, it's not. It's a good kind of funny." he said, much more subdued.

"Well as long as it's not bad, then that's all that matters to me, Hanzo."

 _And there it was, my heart fluttered at the honey-sweet sound of her voice saying my name. And her accent...there was something so sexy about it. I don't know what it was. Most English-speakers I've talked to think that German and German accents sound rough and unpleasant, but I just found her accent so lulling and savoury. I relished in the moment, but also knew that we had to get moving._

Hanzo cleared his throat and then stood up, grabbing his rifle and pulling the sling around him again.

"Well, anyways, we need to get going now. I think we've rested long enough." he said to her.

Mercy nodded her head and then got up as well, pulling her rifle sling over her and pulling her pack back on. They then set off again, Hanzo leading the way. However, before they even took their first few steps, Mercy called out to him.

"Hey, Hanzo?" she called out.

He stopped and turned back to look at her.

"Hm? What is it?"

"Thanks...for the talk." she said, "I feel a lot better."

He nodded his head.

"Same to you, Angela."

She smiled at him saying her name and then caught up to him.

 _As we continued on there was an air of comfort around us that hadn't been there before. It was a welcome change compared to the beginning of the mission or even when we left the village. It was around this time that I finally realised that I cared about this woman. Like,_ really _cared for her and her well-being. It was such a weird feeling and thought because up until that point, I was so sure that I would be alone and single for the rest of my life, and I was content with that. I had no objections to it and actually made arguments for it whenever my brother used to ask me why I don't find a 'good girl' and 'settle down'. The thought of settling down, up until that point, practically scared me shitless. But with Angela...I...I suddenly found myself_ wanting _to settle down. But not with just any woman. No woman I had met up until then would I have ever even entertained the thought of settling down with. But Angela? I could see it. Not only could I see it, I began to find myself_ wanting _it. That beautiful face, those luscious blonde locks, her doll-like porcelain skin and that accent. My god, that accent. And that was a scary thought, especially considering that she wasn't even Japanese. And it wasn't an ethnicity thing, either. It was just a matter of she lived in Switzerland and I lived in Japan. It was a logistics problem. I didn't care what my parents thought. Genji was about to marry a Chinese woman at the time and they gave him grief about it but he went through with it anyway. I, unfortunately, gave him grief about it too because I was ignorant, but then I understood. And I knew that at that time. So I just savoured every moment with her following that. Well...at least until it happened. The event that changed my life forever._

"There it is. Fallujah." Hanzo said as he saw the city off in the distance, "Never in a million years did I think I would say that I'm happy to see Fallujah, but here I am, saying how happy I am that I see Fallujah."

"We made it, Hanzo! I told you we would make it!" Mercy exclaimed as she looked at him and grinned wide.

Hanzo nodded his head, cracking a small smile himself.

"Y...yeah…" he said, "I guess you were right."

They reached the edge of the city where they were stopped by a US Marine CP team.

"Hold up." the squad leader said as he held his hand up.

"It's alright, we're with you guys." Hanzo said.

The squad leader noticed Hanzo's rank, name and country flag on his uniform and then saluted him.

"Lieutenant Shimada. Sergeant Tucker, USMC." the leader saluted, a sergeant himself before offering his hand.

"Sergeant, I couldn't be happier to see you guys." Hanzo said, returning salute and shaking his hand.

Tucker looked over at Mercy and offered his hand as well, "Sergeant Tucker."

"Doctor Ziegler. Nice to meet you." she said, shaking his hand as well.

"Likewise." he said before facing Hanzo again, "What are you doing out here, sir?"

"It's a long story, sergeant, but we need to get back to a friendly base ASAP. We were with a UN mission about 180 klicks west of here but the mission went FUBAR. We were left behind and managed to make it back here on foot." Hanzo told him.

"UN mission?" Tucker said, "I heard about that mission. That's why we're on high alert right now. Shit, if you were with those guys, then we have to get you guys back."

"I'd mighty appreciate it, sergeant."

Tucker looked over at the radio operator.

"Whitman, get on that radio and get in touch with HQ. Tell them we have Lieutenant Shimada and Doctor Ziegler from the UN mission with us and we're taking them in."

"Yes, sir."

The specialist got on the radio and Tucker faced them again.

"It's a damn miracle that you two survived. We assumed you two were KIA." he said.

"Honestly, sergeant, I'm surprised that we're here, myself." he said, "And it was weird, because we faced no resistance coming here. I didn't think that they'd let us off like that."

"Really? Hm, interesting, because…"

"Wait, did you guys hear that?" Mercy interrupted suddenly, holding her hand up.

Everyone went quiet and listened and then they heard a faint whistling sound getting closer. Hanzo's eyes went wide.

"MORTAR! EVERYONE GET DOWN!" he shouted.

He threw Mercy to the ground and threw himself down as well. Right when he did, the mortar shell hit not too far away from them. The shockwave came out and threw them away a little further out and also scattered the Marine CP as well. Once the dust settled, Hanzo got back up and looked at Mercy. Gunshots began erupting around them.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Mercy groaned as she got up, shaking her head.

"Looks like we spoke too soon. Come on, we have to get moving!" he said.

He made his way over to Tucker, who was getting up himself.

"Sergeant, we have to get moving!" Hanzo said.

"I have to stay here and make sure my men are alright! Make your way to the other side of the city! We'll cover your retreat here!" he said.

Hanzo nodded his head and then motioned Mercy to follow.

"Alright, come on! This way!" he said to her.

 _I don't think I've ever run so fast in my life. Somehow, I think Angela was thinking the same thing._


End file.
